Putin

So, last night I had a dream that I had two good friends who were twins and it turned out that they were Vladimir Putin's kids and so I was invited to a dinner party at his castle.  As I was exclaiming to my mother on my cell phone that I was at Putin's, I embarrassedly realized that Medvyedev and Putin were sitting next to me at the table.  All of a sudden, Putin inches closer and asks me what I think of Mitt Romney.  At first I couldn't remember who Mitt Romney was and then I was really embarrassed, but then I remembered him and we got into a discussion of politics and what Americans think of Mitt Romney.

Totally strange dream!    I should've taken the opportunity to advise Russia to withdraw from Georgia.  Maybe that will be the topic of conversation tonight.

God is not our sugar daddy

I turn 27 tomorrow and have been thinking lately that I would post all the uncoolness of becoming 27. I had a whole list ready, but decided that I have better thoughts that I would like to chronicle instead. Deeper, more mature, 27 year-old thoughts J. LOL! ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

My Russian roommate invited me to her church picnic yesterday. I went and had a great time. I was able to meet some new people and practice my Russian. (Funny side note: There was also a group of young Americans there on a mission trip. One of the Russians wanted to say something to one of the Americans so I translated for her. Then, the American asked me where I learned to speak English! She thought that I was Russian!! I told her that I learned in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />America, where I grew up. LOL!) Anyhow, after the Americans left, we all gathered together for a time of group discussion. The topic was "our attitude during difficult times and why we experience trials." I couldn't understand everything that was said, but caught a good portion. It seemed to me that God was trying to tell me something, especially since I had been meditating on James 1 (trials will happen) during my quiet time this week.

Anyone who knows me well would say that I am a "faith" person, and it's true. Normally, I would say that faith is the most important aspect of our relationship with God and I am quite good at drilling that into others as well. Yesterday's discussion reminded me that, in actuality, our relationship with God is the most important part of our relationship with God. Does that make any sense? In short, God is not our sugar daddy. A relationship based simply on what you can get from someone is manipulation and God simply cannot be manipulated. This weekend, I am re-examining my motives. Do I truly love God or do I love what I can get from Him? Will I run at the first sight of a storm? Is my relationship with Him shallow and are my prayers overloaded with requests? I realize that my spiritual life has become a bit unbalanced in this way.

Every time I gather with Russians, I notice wonderful, insightful things. These people have a deeper relationship with the Lord than what I normally see in the states. Russian believers are AMAZING and while I thought I was coming here to teach them, they have actually been teaching me. They understand what it really means to be a believer. They don't serve God to receive His blessings. They really do struggle through life in so many ways, but they love God because God first loved them… its that simple. They serve Him regardless of if they ever receive anything from Him. They understand that we will have problems in our lives - lots of problems - because we live in the real world. They understand that those problems draw us closer to God. They understand that this life is temporary and they carry that attitude with them into their circumstances and into each storm. It has become clearer to me recently that we, as American believers, have a shallow trust in God because we experience no storms. For most of us, life is rosey and our problems are nothing compared to what people here and in other parts of the world suffer. When a storm does come, we turn away from God because we are not taught often enough that storms will come. We blame God because we were told that when we become a Christian, God makes life a bowl of cherries. That is a lie that we need to stop believing… that I need to stop believing. I had my own problems the past two years in Russia and I am ashamed to say that I didn't handle them with the "trials will come" attitude. I don't think that the financial problems in America are the end of the world as we know it, either. I am beginning to look at these storms with a more biblical attitude. I think that perhaps God is trying to tell us something… trying to help us grow up a little bit. Trials make us stronger, not weaker. James 1:3-4 "knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. But let perseverance have its perfect work that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing."

So, I turn 27 tomorrow, and I have decided that it's about time to "grow up".

podshubi

So, I've been thinking a lot about what I need to do to prepare to return home to America.  One thing that has been on my mind lately is food.  May sound strange, but cooking happens to be one of my hobbies and I really want to take home some great Russian or international recipes.  Some of my Russian friends have introduced me to a varying assortment of Russian foods - most of which I have enjoyed.  My favorite Russian salad at the moment is called "poshubi" or "seld pod-shubi" which literally means "herring under a fur coat".  Which to me sounds disgusting and moldy. Luckily I learned the name of the salad after eating it, other wise I may not have tried it.  For those brave souls out there, I wanted to share the simple recipe with you.  There are many different variations of pod-shubi recipes which you can google easily enough, but I have only tried this one.  If you try it, let me know. 

1 can of herring (or tuna if you aren't so bold)

1 medium apple (shredded)

2 eggs (hardboiled and diced finely)

shredded white cheese (maybe gouda or provelone)

mayonaise

Begin by spreading herring on a dinner plate by using a fork to separate and spread evenly to cover bottom of plate.  Next, spread a thin layer of mayonaise over the herring.  Then create a layer with shredded apple and another layer of mayonaise spread over apple.  Layer eggs next with another layer of mayonaise and finally top with shredded cheese.  Enjoy!

Currently Listening Worth It All By Rita Springer see related

Update

I’m on vacation, again.  I love working at a school - they give the greatest vacations.  It’s spring break as of yesterday.  Mary and I are going to Tunisia to rest on the beach for a few days.  I’m not going on the annual AGWM retreat in June in Turkey, unfortunately, so I decided to go now, instead.  Please pray for HOT weather. 

Life in Moscow is always exciting. The longer I live here, the more I discover the culture and history.  Russia has a very.... well let’s just say "intriquing" history and personality.  There is never a dull moment.  Reading the newspaper back home is just not as interesting.

I return home in June.  There are some things that I am looking forward to, like seeing my beautiful family, driving a car, having any alone time, and relaxing.  But on the other hand, I will miss life in Moscow, my friends here, my independence, HCA, and being somewhere I tried so hard to get to.  I’ll simply miss the way my heart connects to this place.

For any of you wondering what my next steps are...  sorry, I just don’t know.

Actually, that’s not true.  I plan to relax at the lake for the summer and then get back to work.  I am determined to finish my Berean classes and become a licensed minister.  I want to work toward becoming fully-appointed and getting back on the field under those circumstances.  While I work toward that, I would like to pursue another degree - possibly in world history.

Currently Reading Crime and Punishment (Enriched Classics) By Fyodor Dostoyevsky see related

time to update

For some reason, this week was so slow in the school offices.  Nellie wasn't sick anymore, so I sat in her office most of the time talking to her and practicing my russian because I didn't have much to do. There isn't much to say about this week.  Wednesday I ate "real" mexican food for the first time in more than a year.  Friday night I went to a Bandy game.  Do you know what Bandy is??  It's like a mixture of soccer and ice hockey.  We watched the American and Canadian teams compete.  America won 7 to 1.  It was like hockey but without the fighting and aggression,  They used a ball instead of a puck. The goals were big enough for a person to stand under and the goalies don't have sticks.  They guard the net like in soccer except they are on skates.  Also, there are ten players from each team on the ice at a time.  They play two 30 minute periods.  Russian fans can be somewhat more dangerous than fans from most other countries, but none the less, I had to cheer for America.  The Russians were just being obnoxious and cheering for the Canadian team, but I overpowered them and yelled back with my cheers for the American team.  I think that I frightened the girls who went to the game with me. 

Yesterday we had another English club meeting.  My friend Olga is really a great witness.  She has brought so many people to this outreach.  Last night, she brought three of her non-christian friends.  They didn't talk very much because they were shy to use their English, but at the end of the night, I asked them if they had fun and they said yes and that they would probably return.  One had returned from last time already.  We had a light subject for conversation last night.  We talked casually about snow and wintertime, but ended with an explanation of how snow is symbolic to believers of the new life Christ provides and the fresh, clean slate God gives us.  Here are a few photos of the evening.

Today, I took the metro to church rather than riding with friends.  It took me a whole hour on the metro compared to twenty minutes by car.  How is that even possible??  Anyhow, after church, I went out to lunch with Nellie, her husband, their son and thier son's girlfriend.  Let me just say that God has such a sense of humor.  This is not the first time I have been face to face with a crush and his girlfriend in such a situation and let me assure you that it will not be the last.  Last time was much more of a train wreck than this time.  I actually enjoyed myself.  I think it's God's little way of protecting me.  Or perhaps I put myself in the middle of these circumstances because I enjoy the challenge.  Who knows!

Anyhow, we went to a nice restaurant downtown.  We were there for three hours.  It is so normal in Russian restaurants - even really nice ones, to get very poor and slow service.  No one complained, it's simply normal.  I ordered more food than I could usually eat, but because I received my meals almost an hour apart from eachother, I had time to prepare for each of them.  And it is also normal to sit and talk for hours over coffee and tea.  The waiters only bring the check when you ask for it.  There is never any pressure to leave so that someone else can have the table.  Stay as long as you want - even if it is all afternoon.  I kinda like it.

And here is the last photo I will leave you with...

Mary asleep on the Metro.  We spend so much time underground that she is starting to feel at home there.